When Hitman: Absolution launches on November 20 in North America, players will be free to access the game's asynchronous online 'Contracts' mode without the need of an online pass. In regions outside of North America, however, the 'Contracts' mode will require a code included in retail boxes of the game.

Where things get a little confusing is that the online pass for "Contracts" will be available for free in all regions outside of North America, with the pass available for download from each platform's respective digital marketplace at no charge – even if you're in a region that requires the included code.

"We'd actually planned to have this mode accessible via a code in the game's box, but we really want to make it available to anybody that plays the game – so we want to take a new approach," the official Hitman Tumblr blog notes.

If you're in North America, the mode is just there. "If you're elsewhere, you can redeem the code inside the box, or you can simply select the 'Buy Contracts Pass' option. From there, head to the store where 'Contracts' will be free to access."

When Ubisoft launched Driver: San Francisco it too altered the plan for its Online Pass, making it available as a free download after printing issues gave users invalid codes. Square Enix, on the other hand, has decided to forgo the pass to ensure all users can access the mode.